The Autism Puzzle Piece Logo was created by a UK organization, the National Autistic Society in 1963. It symbolizes the diversity and multiple characteristics of the condition.

Over 20 years ago, in my psychology classes at NYU, we did not talk much about Autism. I have witnessed its raise and helped the families to get appropriate diagnosis and support at school while learning about Autism, PDD-NOS and Asperger’s outside of the academic environment last 20 years. I have also learned about ASD from my highly verbal adult clients with Asperger’s while helping them to cope with depression and anxiety in social situations.

The early summer of 2014, I completed the certification course of Autism Theory and Practice at University of Washington and learned more about how to solve the Autism Puzzles. The one year graduate level course was created and moderated by Rafael Bernier, PhD, the clinical director of the Seattle Children’s Autism Center. Almost every week, we had expert professionals and parents to learn about their experience and treatment modalities. The third quarter was lead by James Mancini, the speech language pathologist and the Children’s coordinator of parent education, who also runs Autism 200 lecture series.

I am excited to share what I learned from the series of lectures and my ideas in my blog!